Monday, March 24, 2008

This is Carlee enjoying lunch while observing the weather outside. It was rainy so we had a productive discussion about weather. What school would let her do this? :) If you ever want to see what she's been learning, I'm keeping a (very) detailed blog of what I'm teaching her at Discovering Today. (Well, so far it's detailed, but we're only a week in with only one kid. LOL We'll see how detailed it stays later.... )

Sunday, March 23, 2008

I am exhausted! We had a potluck today, and it went great! So many people came, and we had so much vegan food it was so awesome!!! The company was awesome, and I had so much fun! And the kids had a blast, we did an Easter egg hunt, and painted some more salt dough Easter eggs! And of course they've eaten more candy today than they have the whole first part of the year combined, I'm sure! lol. Carlee was in heaven, I think she was amazed at how much candy she was getting to eat. She was lucky I was busy running things lol. Hope everyone had a great day!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I just finished printing out 21 pages of notes for my astronomy final that I have to take on Friday. Wow. 21 pages about all the questions that could be on the test, but there's only going to be 50 questions. 80% from the second half of the semester - all true/false, and 20% from the first half of the semester - all ordering. Nice.... I hate T/F. I always either do really well, or really really horrible. I always second guess my answer. :( I bet you can just sense my enthusiasm about this test all the way from over here! haha Wish me luck! :)

And thanks to everyone for all the congratulations!! We are so excited! :D

Last night I headed over to a friends for some scrapbooking... I didn't get home until after 1 am. LOL I worked on my sister's baby's birth announcements. The scan didn't to the background texture justice. It's an orange speckle looking background. I liked how it turned out a lot. I got ten made of this design. I'm going to have to make a few different designs since I'm working with the paper supplies that I have on me. :) Britt - What do you think? I also decided to make Carlee some new playdough today. I used some neon food coloring my grandma sent me and it turned out great! Very Eastery. The carrots and bunny were crafts that Carlee made yesterday at the Easter event held at base. So we've been feeling pretty crafty lately. :) I should probably be spending that time studying for my exam... lol

Friday, March 14, 2008

*I have to warn you, this post is full of my opinions.* If you noticed the comments on one of my recent posts, you probably already figured out what our Big Decision was...

We've decided to homeschool Carlee (and her future brother/sister). Homeschooling has been in the back of my mind ever since we first had Carlee, but I kept putting off the decision since she was so young. Well, now she's almost 3 and would be going to preschool this year. A lot of things affected our decision.

I once added, "Why High School is Pointless," to an essay brainstorming list in my senior year creative writing class. My teacher has circled that one, saying, "I would love to read this." Did I write it? No. Why? Because I knew it was pointless, it wouldn't matter if I wrote it or not.

The present state of public education is just sad. Some have asked me, "Well, what about the social aspect?" Yeah, socialization with a bunch of kids whose morals are nonexistant. That's just the socialization I want Carlee to have! Face it, most of our country's kids don't care to have a sense of right and wrong, and are doing things they should never even be faced with at such a young age. I'd rather have at least a little control over who she socializes with, and what she is introduced to, than none at all.

Then there's the general aspect of learning. Learning is a natural passion for kids, no matter how advanced or not, they still love to learn. Public schooling takes away that passion, that excitement for learning. For example, all kids are on different levels of understanding and comprehension, but let's generalize like the school does, and say there's above average, average, and below average (and these are just their natural learning capabilities on that certain subject, they could actually excel in something else.) Well, the school will teach to the average level (the level to pass the state exam,) and the above average students are left bored (when they could be learning so much more), and the below average students are left struggling, trying to keep up (when if given the appropriate attention they could excel.) In both situations, the love for learning is squashed. Even the "average" students are not being challenged anymore. Now I understand that with so few teachers to the enormous amount of students, it is impossible at this time to make public schooling cater to each student's needs, sadly. However, (with all aspects in my life) if I can do something about it, then I'm going to.

I really want Carlee to keep her natural love for learning. She is so excited about new concepts and new things, always asking questions, always curious. I looked up a general preschool year course description, what they are expected to learn, and Carlee knows about 2/3 of the list. So what happens if I send her to public preschool? Are they going to teach her the last 1/3 of things, and then encourage her to keep learning? ha. no. I want her to keep learning, keep experiencing...

And that's another thing. I want Carlee to learn from experiences, not just from reading a text book about what that certain author thinks you should know and feel about a certain subject. I want her to think for herself, to learn because she wants to, to read because she enjoys it.

I had a few doubts to get over. Is it fair? Could I really do it? Do I have the patience? Do I know enough? Do I have the time? Are we going to be able to stay on one income? etc. I came to peace with all of these questions.

Is it fair? Yes, I believe she'll have the advantage over all the kids who "aren't being left behind." I realized the other day, that yes I could do this job. I realized that I was already doing it. I'm teaching her all day every day. She knows she is free to ask me questions, "mommy, what are you doing?" "Mommy what is this?" "Mommy, draw a T." "Mommy..." all day, she is so thirsty for learning, and I indulge her. I never leave a question unanswered. I never leave her out of whatever I'm doing, she's always right there, helping, or watching, learning. I realized I had the patience the other day, when Carlee brought something to me. Two lime juice containers from the fridge. Instead of saying, "Carlee, what are you doing in the fridge? Go put those back! Stay out of the fridge." I just looked at her, and said, "What did you find? That's lime juice, do you want to try?" I poured a little in her hand for her to lick, and she experienced very "sour" for the first memorable time. This was when I realized, "Hey, I could do this. I do it already. I have patience teaching her already!" It was so awesome to realize that. Do I know enough? was a silly question. I realized almost as soon as I thought it, that everyone knows enough because the educational resources are abundant. If you know how to sift through credible internet sources, use your library, find people who work in fields that your student is studying, then you have plenty to offer. I have plenty to offer! And like I was reading (on the net), if you come to a subject that you don't understand enough to teach, you can simply hire a tutor for that subject. Do I have the time was an easy one. I'm a stay at home mom. It's my job. Carlee is my priority. I'll make time to give her a good education. Can we stay on one income? Well, we've been successful at that so far. Tony's decided to make the Navy a career, and I don't see our spending habits changing, so I'm pretty sure we'd do fine. Also, with Tony deciding to make this a career, we will still be moving a lot throughout Carlee's school years, as my friend pointed out in the comments, homeschooling will add much needed continuity to her school learning.

So we decided the other night, that yes, we would homeschool Carlee from the get go. Do I have more research to do? Yes, of course, I'm already in contact with the local homeschool group. I can't wait to meet the parents and ask a few questions, and of course there are already books on their way. We are very excited, and happy with our decision.

...the electricity and water will be out. yay! I gotta figure out what we're going to do. Probably head to base. We made a very important decision last night. I'll write about it soon. I need to go get some stuff done before everything is shut off. :)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The sky is so blue with only a few clouds today. The surrounding mountains are covered in a deep luscious green, it's so gorgeous. Flip Flop weather has returned at least for today (hopefully the cold spells are over!) This morning we had Story Hour for MOMS Club outside. I've recently taken over that, since our normal Story Hour mom is moving away. :( It was perfect though, because yesterday while at base I stopped by the thrift store, and I found The Little Blue Easter Egg Clifford Book for 10 cents! It was perfect. I also read a few other books, a lamb one, and a butterfly popout book (Mom- that Carlee still loves). This afternoon, Carlee and I went to the park with a friend, and ended up running into a few other friends. We ate lunch and then she got to play. She had so much fun, of course she spent most of her time on the swing. That's her favorite. :) And now... we're doing laundry. Carlee "folded" her first towel today. LOL She usually helps me with laundry by handing me things, but today she decided she wanted to do what I was doing. She's such a good helper. :D

Monday, March 10, 2008

Today, I co-hosted an Arts & Crafts event for MOMS Club. I had been trying to figure out what I was going to have for the kids to do for a few weeks. Then the other day, as I was trying to take a nap, I kept thinking (instead of sleeping,) about what we have planned for Easter. I had my Grandma send me some wooden eggs to paint with Carlee, and I all of a sudden thought, why don't I try to make some eggs for the kids to paint?! So I did. It took a few tries to figure out a good method, but in the end it was so easy! (and if something like this already on the net, don't tell me, I feel so crafty coming up with this, and telling me would ruin it. LOL) These eggs are so good for Easter, because not only does it not add to the demand of eggs on this holiday, they aren't wasted (how many kids actually eat their boiled eggs?), AND they can be saved forever! I really wish I had thought of this last year, then I would still have Carlee's first ever Easter egg. :) Hope you enjoy them!

Animal Friendly Easter Egg KeepsakesTime:30 minutes from making dough to putting them in the oven without Carlee's help.45 minutes with Carlee's help. :)

For the salt dough:1 Cup All Purpose Flour1/2 Cup Salt1/2 Cup WaterMix well in a bowl and knead until a dough forms.

You also need:A small piece of plastic wrapHalf of a plastic Easter egg, that is split vertically, not through the fat middle.A butter knifeA panPiece of Sandpaper (optional, but smoothes the edges)Acrylic Craft Paint, Glitter, Stickers, etc. to decorateAcrylic Sealant (optional but will make it last longer)

Directions: Preheat oven to 250, for Mineo-ans it's the first setting. Make Salt dough. Take a piece of salt dough that you think will fill the egg (it's okay if it's a little more,) and roll into a smooth ball. Set aside. Hold the plastic egg in one hand and drape the plastic over it. Take the ball of dough and push into the egg. Lay the egg dough side down onto the pan. Push the egg down to squeeze the extra dough out. (You want to squeeze at least a little out, so that you know it completely fills the egg, and that it was pressed against the pan.) Once, you reach the pan with the egg, lift the egg by pulling up on the plastic. (Figuring out how to get the dough out of the egg took me a few attempts, but I told you it turned out to be simple!) Once the egg is removed, take a butter knife and cut around the edge of the egg to get rid of the extra dough. There might be a few lines from the plastic, but if they bother you, you can very gently smooth them out with your finger. Continue to make the eggs until you run out of dough. I got 11 full size eggs, and 1 wimpy one out of one batch of dough. Once they are all on there, bake for 2 hours. Remove and let cool. If you have the sandpaper, sand down the rough edges. Let your kids paint, glitter, sticker them all up, then cover or spray with acrylic sealant. Keep forever to use for Easter decorations, and memories. :)

*Some will look more egglike than others depending on how the dough decides to bake, and if an egg gets air under it before you bake, it might get a little empty pocket on the back, but the kids still love them! Overall, most of mine came out great, I only threw away about 4 eggs out of 3 batches. :)

Sunday, March 9, 2008

been keeping up with Bible Study, I'm learning some very interesting stuff, and connecting with some great ladies.

took on a lot of MOMS Club events this month, because we didn't get a volunteer to do them in time. Tomorrow I have an Arts & Crafts event. I will be posting what I came up with either tomorrow or Tuesday, after I get some pictures of the final projects. It's Easter themed!

should find out in a few days if we're pregnant yet or not (crossing fingers!)

2 weeks left of my science class!!!! If I can just hang on, and pass the last few assignments, and the final, I'm good to go.

still going to pilates (2x week), but my weight lifting workouts (that I was doing 3x a week) have been ignored for 3 weeks. I'm starting back up tomorrow.

finally finished reading Love in the Time of Cholera. Long, slow read, still haven't decided if I liked it or not.

I'm now reading Oprah's book club selection, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. This book is so amazing. I've always been spiritual, but this book in combination with the Bible study, is really taking that journey up a million levels. I feel so rejuvenated lately. I'm not stressed, and I'm getting so much better at just being still, and recognizing that peacefullness inside, my spirit. The book itself is not religious (as in a particular religion) but very spiritual, but I'm completely applying it to my belief in God. I signed up on Oprah.com so that I could download the classes that they're holding live, and the workbook questions and such. If you want a new look on life, a new look on happiness, read this book. It's completely refreshing.

we're planning an Easter potluck at our house, for our friends.

we're also going to be serving on the Mineo Neighborhood Assoc. Well Tony is, because only one member per household can serve, and he's the one that needs the volunteer hours. I will be helping and volunteering anyway. Our first project is the neighborhood Easter celebration, hopefully they'll understand that we won't be helping with the egg dying event.

And I believe that sums it up. I really can't wait to have more time to really start posting again. :) I've had so many ideas and things that I've wanted to write about, but just don't have the time. And now I've got a new project up my sleeve, that I'm still somewhat planning. Hope everyone is doing well!